By: Devika Kandelwal
August 25 2020
False: Kimberly Guilfoyle is a first-generation American.
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
Under the Jones Act of 1917, Puerto Ricans were collectively naturalized as U.S. citizens, which makes her mother a citizen of the United States.
Claim ID f5315ab8
Under the Jones Act of 1917, Puerto Ricans were collectively naturalized as U.S. citizens, which makes her mother a citizen of the United States. On the first day of the RNC, during her speech, Kimberly Guilfoyle described herself as a first-generation American. During her speech, she said her mother was a special education teacher from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. At the same time, her father, whom she described as 'also an immigrant,' came to America to pursue the American dream. Her father is from Ireland. However, under the Jones Act of 1917, Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, and its residents are U.S. citizens. First-generation Americans are people born outside of the United States to parents, neither of whom was a U.S. citizen. For this report, people born in Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories are not considered foreign-born. So, while she describes herself as a first-generation American, but also notes that her mother is from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Rather, her father, Anthony Guilfoyle, was a first generation American. He was born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States when he was an adult.